One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 258 Are you one of the twelve constellations?
Amazon Lily, Nine Snake City.

The mountains surround the city like a fortress, so much so that the recent naval bombardment did not cause any significant damage to the city.

High on the mountains surrounding the city, female warriors dressed in revealing clothing and adorned with snakes held weapons.

Their eyes were warily fixed on the approaching figure in the distant sky, and they silently gripped their bows and arrows.

Meanwhile...
"Is that the guest you're supposed to meet this time?"

At the entrance to Nine Serpents City, a tall, stunningly beautiful woman in a cheongsam leaned against a large serpent.

Needless to say.

With such stunning beauty, the only one who could be recognized as the 'world's most beautiful woman' on the high seas—the 'Pirate Empress' Boa Hancock.

Her gaze also fell upon the approaching figure, her voice haughty and aloof.

"Yes, if I'm not mistaken."

Beside her, a man with white hair and beard, wearing glasses, and a scar on his right eye, smiled and nodded.

He is none other than 'Pluto' Silvers Reilly.

"Yes—Snake Princess, if nothing unexpected happens, that person should be a member of that organization!"

Beside Rayleigh, a short old woman holding a snake staff seized the opportunity to speak.

She is Grelliosa, the former emperor of Amazon Lily, and a former member of the Rocks Pirates.

Of course, she has now retired and lives in the village as "Grandma Za".

"You've seen it too, haven't you? This recent naval attack is just the first wave; the invasions will continue incessantly."

"Even with Rayleigh's help, things will only get more and more complicated. If we attract the attention of an 'Admiral,' things will get out of control."

"So quickly tell the soldiers to withdraw their hostility and retreat back to the city!"

She gave me earnest advice.

"what?"

But after hearing her words, Hancock glanced at her and sneered.

"Old woman, what are you saying?"

She stretched out her hand and pointed at Grandma Zha: "The soldiers chose to protect me because they were worried about me, not because I gave the order."

"Besides, they're just a bunch of naval forces—even without Rayleigh, I could annihilate them all here!"

At this point, she raised her head haughtily.

"After all, I am so beautiful and powerful."

"Yes Yes!"

At this moment, even Gureliosa, who was being insulted by her, couldn't help but have pink hearts appear in his eyes.

However, as the former Queen of Kuja, she quickly realized what was happening and snapped out of her reverie, saying hurriedly, "No, that's not what I meant. I was talking about the 'prophecy'."

Her expression turned serious.

"You know—it's a major prophecy about how this country will 'change' in the future, so you absolutely mustn't do anything reckless!"

She said in a deep voice.

"Humph!"

But Hancock clearly didn't listen.

She simply snorted: "I have never fully believed in prophecies—I would never entrust everything to an unknown person based on such a thing."

As she spoke, she once again proudly raised her head and looked at the figure in the sky.

"Men are not allowed to set foot on Amazon Lily—Rayleigh is my savior and there is an exception, but other men are not."

She is the emperor of the Nine Serpents.

Even though she knew that the prophecy her grandmother had made was quite accurate.

But as she said, as the emperor, she would not gamble her own and the fate of the country on a nobody.

Even her savior Rayleigh, the former Kuja Emperor Shakky, and Granny Za couldn't convince her of this.

She said coldly, "Unless he can prove to me that he is a true 'strongman' who can disregard the rules."

Amazon Lily worships the strong, believing that 'the strong are beautiful'.

She is the Empress of Amazon Lily and the strongest being in Amazon Lily.

If the other party truly does bring about change to Amazon Lily as predicted, then...

Then she must personally confirm that the other party is 'powerful' enough.

"Your willful behavior will lead to the downfall of the nation!"

So, Grandma was so angry she almost jumped up and down.

But Hancock didn't seem to care at all, and simply stood up slowly from the giant snake behind her: "So what?"

"Even if it leads to the destruction of the country, the people will forgive me."

She lifted her foot and took a step.

"After all, I am simply too beautiful!"

next moment.
"Zi!"

An intense aura of domineering power instantly emanated from her body.

The target of that Conqueror's Haki was none other than the 'Sword God' that was flying towards them.

at the same time
"Buzz!"

An invisible pink realm, centered on her, spread outwards at that moment.

The next moment, everything—from the vigilant soldiers and the hopping old woman to the grass, trees, and even fallen leaves—was instantly petrified.

【Sweet Fruit - Fruit Awakening - Sweet Domain - Petrifies any 'creature' or 'object' with a lower charm value than the user within the vicinity.】

Meanwhile, Rayleigh's smile remained unchanged as he watched this scene.

Knowing Hancock very well, he had obviously already guessed that she would do this.

He had no intention of stopping her—because he had already realized that Hancock's attack was not intended to kill, but merely a test.

Even now, he looked expectantly at the figure in the sky.

then
"Oh?"

He exclaimed in surprise, "Is it really that bad?"

And at this time.
"!!!"

Hancock has also noticed this.

The awakening of her fruit has clearly spread to the vicinity of the 'Sword God'.

But
"No petrification!?"

Hancock was horrified to discover that the other person's body had not been petrified.

Or to be more precise—the other person's body did indeed exhibit a brief tendency to petrify at a certain moment.

But only in the next moment.
"Sizzle!" "Sizzle!"

Black and red lightning bolts kept appearing.

The petrification effect that hadn't yet spread across the opponent's body was instantly 'erased'.

at the same time
"boom!"

Hancock's Conqueror's Haki clashed with her opponent's. Then...
"."

Hancock's face turned pale instantly.

She instantly pursed her cherry lips and clenched her teeth.

Because in that instant, she clearly realized that her Conqueror's Haki had been suppressed.

If her Conqueror's Haki is a snake roaming freely in a river.

Then the opponent's Conqueror's Haki is a dragon soaring through the sky and churning across the four seas.

That was a completely different level of aura, which crushed her Conqueror's Haki almost instantly.

And the next moment.
"Qiang!"

Then she heard the sound of a sword being drawn.

She subconsciously looked up and saw the sword god flying down from the sky, wreathed in intense Conqueror's Haki, already raising the sword in his hand.

On the blade, black light flowed.

"Frosty Moon Flow - Fallen Dragon!"

next moment.
"boom!"

As the blade struck, the figure plummeted downwards with the blow, its form resembling a dragon!

At that instant, Hancock's expression changed drastically.

"Fragrant feet!"

She subconsciously enveloped herself in Armament Haki, raising her leg to meet the opponent's attack.

But
"That's enough, Hancock."

Her movements were stopped a moment later.

She heard Rayleigh's voice in her ear: "The combination of Conqueror's Haki that is extremely powerful and a physique that has been honed to the point of being far beyond human capabilities—the combination of the two can counteract or even completely annihilate the effects of a Devil Fruit. The fact that the opponent can do this should be enough for you to confirm his strength."

“If you make another move, it won’t be a ‘test’ anymore, but a real ‘provocation’.”

Hancock clearly heard the surprise and a hint of excitement in Rayleigh's words.

"Let me talk to him next."

As the words fell.

Rayleigh's figure also leaped out.

In his hand, a sword was already in his grasp.

"The Blade of the Other Shore!"

He raised his hand, and an equally intense Conqueror's Haki accompanied the sword's edge as it met the black blade.

next moment.
"Boom!"

The two swords clashed violently in the sky above Amazon Lily.

then
"Zi!"

At that moment, the entire Nine-She Island suddenly began to tremble violently.

The rocky cliffs along the island's edge, already weakened by the previous naval battle with the navy, began to crumble and fall into the sea.

Black and red lightning bolts collided repeatedly, slicing through the clouds above.

The sea, which should have been calm within the doldrums, suddenly surged violently at this moment.

Huge waves formed out of nowhere, causing naval warships outside the Amazon Lily to sway violently before being swept away by the massive tsunami.

"here we go!"

"Hades and the God of Swords... they actually clashed!"

"That swordsman actually has the strength to fight Hades?"

"Report this to headquarters immediately!"

"As expected. We'll stop attacking the Amazon Lily as planned and wait for the outcome before making any further moves!"

On the naval warship, panicked sounds could be heard continuously.

And at this moment.
In the sky, Rayleigh and the Sword God clashed.

The long swords in their hands clashed, trembling slightly.

"Huh"

At this moment, the gentle smile that had been observing Rayleigh's face had disappeared.

Instead, his eyes were filled with sharpness and admiration.

"That's truly amazing! It's not just the imposing aura, but also the physique. I felt like I was wrestling with a giant!"

His hands were trembling.

Yes—in a contest of strength, he was actually at a disadvantage.

"You're not bad either."

At this moment, the Sword God finally uttered his first words since his appearance.

"As expected of the Pirate King's right-hand man—after all these years, he still has this level of power?"

"No way."

Upon hearing this, Rayleigh smiled slightly: "I'm old and can't keep up with the times. It's time for me to retire."

"Someone doesn't think so—your presence here doesn't look like you're looking to retire."

The God of Swords spoke thus.

But as he spoke, he also sensed something strange—because at this moment, Rayleigh was unleashing a powerful aura to fight against him.

However, he could clearly sense it.

There was no hostility in the sword of this 'Hades'.

"Hahaha!"

And that's exactly what happened.

Upon hearing this, Rayleigh burst into laughter.

"That's why I'm here. It's precisely because I'm retiring that I'm here."

"As an old-timer from the previous era, there are always things I can't let go of, and I should leave something for the new era."

“When you came to see me last time, I happened to be out of Sabaody—by the time Shakky told me, you had already left.”

"That's why I took the initiative to come here and wait for you this time."

He said so.

Upon hearing this, the Sword God's gaze seemed to sharpen.

Last time, the words "Sabaody" were enough for him to understand the meaning behind Rayleigh's words.

"you"

But he didn't have time to speak.

Rayleigh's words had already confirmed his guess.

"'Sword God,' you're a member of the Twelve Constellations, aren't you?"

(End of this chapter)